Episcopal Church

News about Episcopal Church, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Nov. 8, 2014

Seven of the eight faculty members who were dismissed in September from General Theological Seminary in Manhattan will return to their classrooms but conflict that led to their departure remains far from resolved; professors, who say they were illegally fired during a strike to protest their treatment at the school, are reinstated provisionally until end of academic year and have lost their tenure protections. MORE

Oct. 2, 2014

Eight of 10 full-time faculty at New York's General Theological Seminary are fired for walking off the job in order to protest mismanagement and offensive comments by school's dean and president, Rev Kurt H Dunkle; incident means that school is once again in turmoil only a few years after avoiding bankruptcy in 2010. MORE

May. 5, 2014

Bishop V Gene Robinson, who made history as first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, announces that he and his husband are planning to divorce. MORE

Apr. 19, 2014

Friendship between Episcopalian bishop, Rev Tory Baucum, and rector Rev Shannon Johnston, is hailed as one of the most unexpected developments in bitter feud that has split Episcopal Church in decade since denomination elected openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson; friendship between bishop and rector will not end divisions in Anglicism, but union seems to have given license to other Anglicans to begin repairing long estrangements. MORE

Jun. 22, 2013

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column notes that Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, has been criticized for her liberal and negative interpretation of biblical text about a slave woman; controversy comes at time when biblical interpretation is especially important for Episcopal Church, which is locked between liberal and conservative members. MORE

Jan. 10, 2013

Washington National Cathedral announces it will now hold weddings for same-sex couples; cathedral's step carries weight because of its historic role as nation's unofficial capitol of worship. MORE

Oct. 20, 2012

Diocese of South Carolina, known for its conservative tendencies, splits from Episcopal Church after years of controversy over ordination of gays and other issues. MORE

Jul. 15, 2012

Ross Douthat Op-Ed column observes that the Episcopal Church has declined even as it has become more progressive; contends that this trend is true for all Christian churches that have steadily become more socially liberal; examines what this means for liberal Christians, and Christianity as a whole. MORE

Jul. 11, 2012

Text of the official liturgy approved by the Episcopal Church to bless same-sex couples, called The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant. MORE

Jul. 11, 2012

Episcopal Church approves an official liturgy for blessing same-sex unions, enabling priests who have the approval of their bishops to bestow the church’s blessing on gay couples, no matter whether their state allows the marriage or not. MORE

Apr. 22, 2012

Lives essay by the Rev Dr Amy Richter describes the sense of personal freedom and accomplishment she had after competing in a physique competition at the Wisconsin State Fair, despite the fact that she is a priest. MORE

Jan. 13, 2012

Op-Ed article by University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Prof Sara Ritchey notes that the Roman Catholic Church has decided to allow married priests from Episcopal congregations into the church as an exception; cautions clerical wives to be on guard, as the role of a priest's wife in the Catholic church is an anomalous one and, as the Vatican has insisted, one that will not receive permanent welcome in the church. MORE

Jan. 7, 2012

Mark Oppenheimer Beliefs column; the Vatican’s formation of an ordinariate, a diocese without borders, for Episcopal priests who want to move to Catholicism will add to the small number of married priests in America; impact of married priests raises questions of the necessity of rules in the church about celibacy. MORE

Jan. 2, 2012

Roman Catholic Church establishes the equivalent of a nationwide diocese in the United States that former Episcopal priests and congregations can enter together as intact groups; converts will be considered full-fledged Catholics, and expected to show allegiance to the pope and oppose contraception, but will be allowed to preserve revered verses from the Book of Common Prayer; converting priests who are married will be exempted from the Catholic requirement of celibacy, but will not be allowed to become bishops. MORE

Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who last year retired from his post heading New Hampshire’s diocese, said he would end his relationship, which began as a civil union in 2008 and was later recognized as a marriage.

A friendship between two ministers is being hailed as one of the most unexpected and intriguing developments in a bitter feud that has split the Episcopal Church in the decade since the denomination elected an openly gay bishop.